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Shards of Awakening

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Boring Turn 6 Part 1
  • Threadmarks
    • [] Plan Training Montage
    -[] Cultivate Art or Technique
    --[] Sleep's Glittering Sands (x3)
    --[] Dreamer's Endless Journey (+ spare 3 xp)
    --[] 2 spirit diamonds
    --[] Kaleidoscopic Pill

    3 * [11d10 (affinity) + 2d10 (slumber affinity) + 6d10 (gems) + 10d10 (pill) = 29d10 * 1.2 (Gyre) = 34d10]

    08 07 09 02 07 05 01 06 08 07 07 05 10 07 09 07 06 03 01 03 01 04 08 06 08 01 06 10 02 08 04 04 06 04 = 12 XP * 1.5 = 18 XP

    SGS: First Dune

    XP: 12/25 -> 30/25

    SGS: Second Dune

    XP: 5/50

    05 07 02 03 06 05 10 08 04 09 07 10 07 07 02 05 10 02 09 05 06 10 08 10 01 06 08 04 01 02 03 04 04 10 =12 XP * 1.5 = 18 XP

    SGS: Second Dune

    XP: 5/50 -> 23/50

    02 04 07 03 01 03 04 10 10 09 06 04 09 09 02 06 10 03 07 01 03 01 07 06 09 05 07 05 01 01 05 05 04 08 = 15 XP * 1.5 = 22 XP

    SGS: Second Dune

    XP: 23/50 -> 45/50

    Sand forms in doughy balls around her as Quan Jia stares into a stupid, stupid mirror. Instead of her reflection, dozens of frayed threads of qi stare back at her. A minute correction and one of the orbiting sandballs looks a little less like an uncooked dumpling. Another tweak and the irregular orbiting pattern shifts to a slow figure-eight pattern.

    "So boring," air and annoyance explode out of her and Quan Jia flops defiantly to the floor.

    As if summoned by her complaints, Mei Mei appears, mockery at the ready. "I had thought my lady had reserved this time to practice her defensive technique?"

    "I had to beat Xiao Lien in a best of three game of Sword-Axe-Shield, she lost all three…" Quan Jia grins and then her voice drops to a whisper, " don't tell her about the whole gambling thing."

    "My lady may rest assured that her secrets are sacrosanct with me," Mei Mei says in a way that sounds like Xiao Lien would be learning about being swindled rather soon.

    "If Mei Mei is going to stay here, she should entertain me," Quan Jia pronounces as balls of sand splash to the floor and dissolve into motes of iridescence.

    "That would rather defeat the purpose of training wouldn't it, my lady," a mocking eyebrow rises.

    "Who cares about that," she pouts, "I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored."

    But it seemed as though my lady had made rather impressive progress while training," a head tilts and black hair forms a veil in front of her attendant's face. "I wonder if my lady would be so generous as to demonstrate her accomplishments?"

    "I knew you were there spying," she accuses lazily. "Mei Mei gets more boring by the day."

    "How could I ever find boredom in watching my lady strive for the strength to stand on her own?" and wasn't that just a bit too pointed a reminder…

    "It sounds like Mei Mei doesn't trust me," her face twists with sadness. "and I don't think the sorrow of that lack of trust can ever be soothed."

    "The vagaries of life are the foundation stones of a strong Path. I consider it no less than my duty to ensure that my lady's is the strongest." how Mei Mei manages to say things like that without even the slightest indication of how ridiculous it sounded was something she would probably never understand… so not fair…

    With a theatrical sort of flourish, Quan Jia grabs at her chest and slumps down, heartbroken, "but how will I be able to go back to the me before all this pain?"

    "It's a melancholy feeling…" Mei Mei muses as a faintly mocking smile crosses her face, "to watch one's lady take her first, hesitant, steps along the road to adulthood as she learns to live with the loss of innocence."

    Why did Mei Mei always win these debates… so not fair… "fine, Mei Mei wins… I'll keep training."


    "So you never lose when gambling?" Xiao Lien's face is rather frowny as she stares at her.

    "Did Mei Mei tell you that?" Quan Jia tilts her head in innocent curiosity, "you should be careful how much you trust her… she's a tricksy one."

    "That seems unlikely," her friend continues frowning. "And you could have just asked… you didn't need to try and trick me."

    "She said my secrets were sacrosanct," Quan Jia mumbles more to herself than anything before grinning not at all guiltily, "and it's not that I never lose…"

    "Oh," her friend raises an eyebrow in a way that was remarkably similar to the mocking twist Mei Mei used. "Then it was a completely fair competition?"

    "What is fairness?" Well, two could play at the Mei Mei mimicry game. "Is a game with three equivalent outcomes: a win, a loss, and a tie, not by its very nature fair?

    "I don't think you're using the word equivalent right," Xiao Lien sighs in mild exasperation. "But I suppose you have something of a point."

    "Of course I do," she nods happily.

    "Never gamble with Quan Jia," her friend grins somewhat viciously, "she cheats."

    "Reading the pattern of fate isn't cheating…" not exactly.

    "So you admit it?" Xiao Lien's head tilts mockingly.

    "Wha… ok, fine, maybe I do," she pouts in resignation and mumbles, "Is this pick on Quan Jia week?"

    "So why did you rig a game to get time with an artifact that's already yours in the first place?" her friend no longer looks even a little frowny… it really was pick on Quan Jia week, wasn't it…

    "Well," she toed at the ground, feeling her cheeks warm, "Mei Mei got kinda mad and called me lazy and I sorta promised that I'd try harder training and I guess I needed the mirror for that… it's just soo boring…"

    Xiao Lien's face looks caught somewhere between amused and intrigued as she asks, "so you just wanted a bit of time to train that sand technique of yours?"

    "Yeah, she wants me to unlock the next two levels of it," she shrugs, "the first Dune was easy enough, but the second one is being stubborn."

    Something flashes across her oldest friend's face, but for a long moment she remains silent. Until, "so why don't we spar together… that's gotta be more fun than staring at that mirror." her voice drops to a whisper, "Don't tell Liu Mei, but that thing's just plain boring…"

    "But you always seem so…" busy… the symmetry of this conversation and the one she'd just had with Dai Qiao crystallizes in her mind and Quan Jia smiles widely even as she can feel her face burning. "Great, do you have some time tomorr-"

    A hand reaches out and grabs her own, and she's being dragged off before she can even finish the question. "Let's go now."


    Drops of molten glass splash to the ground as sand blocks radiance. Xiao Lien grunts in disgust, "between the sand and how… slippery you are, I don't even see why Liu Mei's worried. I think it'd be more productive to punch a mountain…" her friend trails off with a muttered, "at least if I punched a mountain, the damn thing might eventually collapse."

    "It is kind of annoying isn't it," Quan Jia grins in an intentionally smug sort of way, "but where'd you get the flashy light technique? Last I remember it was feathers or something, right?"

    "Ahh, well, about that..." Xiao Lien rubs a hand at the back of her neck, "can we pretend you never saw them?"

    "Well, I normally don't like secrets, at least not the one's I don't know, but..." She muses, fingers idly tapping at her lip, "I guess I can forget about it… after all, I know Xiao Lien will tell me someday, right?"

    Her friend sighs in relief and nods, "absolutely, I owe you way more than that. Things are just a bit… weird at the moment."

    "So, what about the sun technique?" hopefully it wouldn't take too long, not knowing secrets was kind of like an itch she couldn't scratch.

    Her friend's voice lilts upward as she responds, "umm… would you believe The Library?"

    Deciding, somewhat on a whim to accept the obvious lie, Quan Jia grins, "really, Dai Qiao finds a cool talking book in there and Xiao Lien finds a cool flashy technique… I'm going to have to go there soon too… I wouldn't want to miss out."

    "Thanks, Quan Jia," her friend smiles in response.

    "For what?" her head tilts in mock confusion and, setting aside mysterious best friends for the moment, Quan Jia gestures. A thin pane of sand materializes several feet to her left. "I think it's near dinner time, so let's see how much my sand can take… just blast it with all you've got and we'll go eat."

    "I thought I heard something about fermented fish…" her friend shudders. "Are you sure you got the right chef?"

    "It was shark… and there's always bread, you wimp. Plus my cute maids even found a nice red wine in town," sure the kitchen had smelled a bit like urine, but that didn't mean the meal would… surely not?... "and I'm sure Mei Mei will have a delivery box stashed somewhere, just in case?"

    "Oh, is Quan Jia as hesitant as the rest of us mere mortals at the thought of this particular experiment?" a smirk crosses Xiao Lien's face as she hones in on that moment of weakness… it really was pick on Quan Jia week…

    "No way, different is good," she resolutely ignored the way her words sound rather more plaintive than definite. "So make with the sunlight so we can try our rotten fish."

    The Dawn's radiance burns in the clearing they were standing. A single ray of golden light bleaches the lengthening shadows cast by sunset and sears into the pane of sand.

    [This week's exploration roll, unsurprisingly, will be going to the library. Since there's a variety of things there, I'll leave it to voters to offer some specifics on what they want to look for. Please note that the breakpoints for the choices below is not necessarily the same.]

    [] After meeting Lady Shifting Sands, and getting her blessing, maybe I should find out just what that means. (may provide insight into some of the spirits Quan Jia has met and some hints on how best to navigate those relationships)

    [] I've been here for a month now and I really don't know much about the sect, maybe I should change that. (may provide insight into things available in and around the sect and how to reach them.)

    [] I probably shouldn't rely on pops for everything… maybe I can find a few cool techniques to go with my sand. (may provide relevant cultivation arts or techniques for Quan Jia.)

    [] I bet there's lots of hidden passages and secret rooms in the library. I should go look for one of them. (may find secret items or places inside the library itself)
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Why is this even a question? Quan will always get distracted at the thought of secret shinies.

    [x] I bet there's lots of hidden passages and secret rooms in the library. I should go look for one of them. (may find secret items or places inside the library itself)
     
    Could we not use the pill on both SGS and DEJ?

    Also, I want these allll ahhhhhhhh

    [X] I bet there's lots of hidden passages and secret rooms in the library. I should go look for one of them. (may find secret items or places inside the library itself)

    Well we can always do a library explore next week.
     
    [X] I bet there's lots of hidden passages and secret rooms in the library. I should go look for one of them. (may find secret items or places inside the library itself)
     
    dmclain2 said:
    The First Dune provides a +1 dice bonus to physical defense pool.
    XP: 12/25

    Second Dune:
    Sand flows as liquid and absorbs with languid stillness. Practitioners of the Second Dune begin to refine their control over their sand constructs.

    The second dune increases the defensive bonus provided by the First Dune to +3
    XP: 0/50
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Looks like only the item page got updated.

    CedeTheBees said:
    Could we not use the pill on both SGS and DEJ?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Doesn't look like we started yet. Here's hoping the pill carries over to that cultivation session?

    [X] I bet there's lots of hidden passages and secret rooms in the library. I should go look for one of them. (may find secret items or places inside the library itself)
     
    AAAAAH SO CLOSE FOR THE THIRD DUNE... Well, one session will do, and we can focus on unarmed training or DEJ.

    [X] I bet there's lots of hidden passages and secret rooms in the library. I should go look for one of them. (may find secret items or places inside the library itself)


    This is not a choice
     
    [X] I probably shouldn't rely on pops for everything… maybe I can find a few cool techniques to go with my sand. (may provide relevant cultivation arts or techniques for Quan Jia.)
     
    [X] I've been here for a month now and I really don't know much about the sect, maybe I should change that. (may provide insight into things available in and around the sect and how to reach them.)
    Finding out more about the sect can only be good, I feel.
    Shame about the SGS roll, but it was going to be something of a long shot.
     
    Cultivation classe give XP to arts... So maybe next time we can choose techs so we dont use an action?
    When will be the next Cultivation class?
     
    [X] I probably shouldn't rely on pops for everything… maybe I can find a few cool techniques to go with my sand. (may provide relevant cultivation arts or techniques for Quan Jia.)
     
    [X] I've been here for a month now and I really don't know much about the sect, maybe I should change that. (may provide insight into things available in and around the sect and how to reach them.)
     
    [X] I've been here for a month now and I really don't know much about the sect, maybe I should change that. (may provide insight into things available in and around the sect and how to reach them.)
     
    CedeTheBees said:
    @dmclain2 Sorry to bother, but I think you forgot to add in the Third Dune preview?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I remember adding it so I must have closed without updating. It's fixed now and excerpted below


    Third Dune (Qi cost: ●●)
    Sand abrades clarity and erodes precision. Practitioners of the Third Dune learn how to thread grains of sand throughout an opponent's techniques

    The Third Dune eliminates an opponent's physical attack technique bonuses.
     
    [X] After meeting Lady Shifting Sands, and getting her blessing, maybe I should find out just what that means. (may provide insight into some of the spirits Quan Jia has met and some hints on how best to navigate those relationships)
     
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  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by dmclain2 on May 24, 2021 at 4:36 PM, finished with 21 posts and 11 votes.
    • [x] I bet there's lots of hidden passages and secret rooms in the library. I should go look for one of them. (may find secret items or places inside the library itself)
      [X] I've been here for a month now and I really don't know much about the sect, maybe I should change that. (may provide insight into things available in and around the sect and how to reach them.)
      [X] I probably shouldn't rely on pops for everything… maybe I can find a few cool techniques to go with my sand. (may provide relevant cultivation arts or techniques for Quan Jia.)
      [X] After meeting Lady Shifting Sands, and getting her blessing, maybe I should find out just what that means. (may provide insight into some of the spirits Quan Jia has met and some hints on how best to navigate those relationships)
    Click to expand...
     
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